The Blue Reading Chair: Grandma’s Chicken Soup – Stone Soup

Stone Soup is a story with no copyright – and many versions are available at the library – because it arose from the wars in Europe. Food was taken and used by the armies, and because it was very hard to come by, it was, of course, hoarded.  As the story goes, a person – perhaps a very hungry soldier on his own as Grandpa was, put on a pot of water to boil and added a stone to the pot.  He then asked if anyone had a potato, for example.  As people added what small piece of food they had, it became a real soup that everyone could partake of.

Grandpa was such a soldier/ spy who infiltrated Russia and had to live off the land. He lived on the family farm till he was about age 14; the war had begun and he said he was a year older so that he could join the army. He was tall, strapping and intelligent – and they really needed so-called “men” for the war.  He ate rather simple food when he lived at home, but he ate even more simply as a soldier. 

One of the soups he liked – which was very much like Stone Soup – was the Chicken Soup/ Rosol which Grandma made.  At that time, she would buy a clutch of vegetables called “soup greens” at the corner grocery store, which included a piece of celery, a carrot, parsley with the root, etc – and would then add a cut-up chicken, the eggs which were forming in the chicken, and often tomatoes.

Martha Stewart once had a guest doing his Chicken Soup on her show. He did a quick and easy Noodle Szmata (rag noodle) as his grandmother did.  But when he added a hard-boiled egg – she asked “Why?” I was rather surprised because I thought she would know why.  He, too, did not know why when he said: “…because Grandma did that.”  Ah, the days of yore!    Did you see the Geico tv advertisement (one of many), which featured the white rooster, Foghorn Leghorn, who was forever (as in old comic books) pursued by a very small Chicken Hawk with a very large club.

“That’s what Grandma did” reminded me of the story a man told – his wife would cut off the end of the ham and put it into another bake pan – she then proceeded to roast both of them.  She said her “…mother did it that way.”  Of course her mother had a real reason to do it that way, which was because the only roasting pan her mother possessed was not big enough.  People did not have available to them the myriad cookware that is now available at much lower prices – and her mother’s may even have been spatter-ware as was Grandma’s.

The added egg also actually came about for a real reason.  When Grandpa no longer had the grocery store with live chickens, Grandma would buy a chicken at the “Chicken Store” on Chicago Avenue where they still had sawdust on the floor.  At that time the chickens often had yolks in various stages of becoming eggs, and these, of course, would go into the soup.

Following is the chicken soup recipe I developed over a period of time, based on Grandma’s original recipe. But, of course, this version has been developed with the abundance of foods now available to us, although the ingredients are still basic.  It is very good, and Hannah really, really likes this soup.  We use half of a chicken which is left-over from our Roast Chicken – or Chicken Breast Halves (skinless and boneless) can be used. The recipe for our roast chicken will be forthcoming on a “soon” blog.

Chicken Soup 

A leftover half of chicken – use all juices – dice about 1/2 to 3/4″ Or  

5 chicken breast halves – all skin and bones removed – dice about 1/2 to 3/4″    

5 to 6 cups water   

2 1/2  teaspoons chicken bouillon paste or equivalent bouillon powder

1 1/2  cups well chopped onion  

1 1/2 cups small diced carrots    

1 1/2  cups small diced celery including leaves  

3 Tablespoons of well chopped parsley    

3  medium/ small cloves garlic, well minced    

1/2  teaspoon dried thyme    

1/4  teaspoon coarsely ground pepper   

salt as desired

Cook the chicken covered with the water and bouillon.  Bring to a boil and simmer 15 to 20 minutes – shorter time for the leftover roast chicken and the longer time for the raw breast meat.  Remove chicken and dice about 1/2 to 3/4″.  Skim the liquid.  Add the vegetables to the liquid – bring to a boil and simmer 10 to 15 minutes.  If using noodles, add 1 1/2 cups of fresh cut up noodles or 6 ounces of packaged dry curly noodles to the broth and cook about 8 – 10 minutes.  Add 1 or more hard cooked eggs (with shells removed), if desired.  Add bouillon, herbs and spices – bring to a boil.  Add the chicken back to the soup and bring to a low boil – cook for about 5 minutes to heat through before serving.

For Cream of Chicken Rice Soup, I add a roux of flour and butter – and add cooked brown rice – in appropriate amounts.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED©AT THE AMERICAN TABLE

2010-2011

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The Blue Reading Chair: Beatrix Potter, Peter Rabbit – and Easter at Our House

Beatrix Potter spent much time alone and watched the antics of the rabbits surrounding their home.  She wrote and illustrated the Peter Rabbit books which have often been reproduced – for example, these small size books –  and can still be found at stores.  When Hannah was a child, I found a nice set of Peter Rabbit books for her, which she still has. 

The story of Peter Rabbit includes his family of Mom and three sisters:  Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail.   Peter Rabbit’s idea of a good time definitely was to go into Mr. McGregor’s garden to eat the vegetables.  Peter would also get others to go with him such as his friend Benjamin Bunny, though it didn’t take much persuading.  Of course, they would both get into trouble of some sort, which is why Grandpa Bunny went in search of Benjamin.

Although her parents did not want Beatrix Potter to marry, she did eventually marry the solicitor who handled her books, and she bought a nice farm which she left to England’s National Trust.  These photos, taken by Hannah, are from Beatrix Potter’s miniature Peter Rabbit books – and the stuffed Grandpa Bunny in the suit coat was a gift from her to me.  We also bought various other lambs and rabbits along the way.

 

We had a very nice Easter celebration at our house – we had a baked ham, and small kielbasa which were very good.  The Aunties sat at the dining room table and we all enjoyed Grandma’s Potato Salad, our spinach with bacon and mushroom salad, creamed herring, pink beets, etc. 

There are many, many recipes for Potato Salad in various forms – and of course, there are already cold and hot potato salad divisions.  Grandma herself, made good old and cold American picnic potato salad – and everyone liked it!  And of course, Grandma made it to accompany sandwiches for a picnic at the Forest Preserves or Humboldt Park.  We had a similar potato salad at a friend’s house one day – the only difference was that they left out the tomatoes and added more eggs.  There is a time and a place for Kraft Miracle Whip Salad Dressing – which is based on mayonnaise – and it’s now meeting in the middle with the “light” versions of mayonnaise.  Following is the recipe based on Grandma’s Potatoe Salad (yes, it once had an “e” at the end of it). 

Grandma’s Potato Salad

2 pounds of Red potatoes – or Gold Yukon – cut into 3/4 inch cubes       

1/3 cup mild onion, finely chopped       

1 cup celery, finely chopped     

1/8 teaspoon black pepper              

1/4 cup drained piccalilli       

6 to 8 hard boiled large eggs      

1 cup Kraft Miracle Whip Dressing     

2 or 3 tomatoes, wedge thinly

Combine potatoes with onion, celery, black pepper and drained piccalilli.  Separate the egg whites from yolks – chop well and combine with potatoes.  Crumble yolks very well and mix into salad dressing.   Combine half the dressing with the potatoes.  Add the rest of the salad dressing just before serving.  Top with wedged tomatoes.

Yes, potato salad should be refrigerated until actually serving – it can be started the night before.  We use Kraft Miracle Whip, as originally called for, because it just “tastes right” with it, but another mayonnaise type dressing can be used, as desired. We use coarsely ground black pepper, and we have found that large white onions are not only mild, but they last much longer than yellow onions.  The amount of eggs used can be adjusted, as desired. We may use extra-large eggs and adjust the amount of eggs called for in the recipe.

Of course we had the frosted Easter Lamb cake made with the Solo almond filling recipe, which actually became less sweet by the next day, and we also had my chocolate-chocolate muffins with Porto cherries.  It was an enjoyable get-together.

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Springing Up in Spring: More About Asparagus!

Asparagus is a very early spring vegetable – a flowering perennial plant. This wonderful vegetable is native to most of Europe, northern Africa and westernAsia, and is widely cultivated.  Only newly sprung-up young asparagus shoots, known to us as asparagus spears, are commonly eaten, because once the buds start to open, the shoots quickly turn woody.

Asparagus has been used from early times as a vegetable and medicine, owing to its delicate flavor and diuretic properties. It was cultivated by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans, who ate it fresh when in season and dried the vegetable for use in winter.  France’s Louis XIV had special greenhouses built for growing it. And there is actually a recipe for cooking asparagus in the oldest surviving book of recipes, Apicius’s third century AD, De re coquinaria, Book III.

Since asparagus often originates in seaside habitats, it thrives in soils that are too salty for normal weeds to grow – but it manages to grow quite well in the garden when it’s well mulched and fertilized as directed.  “Crowns” are planted in full sun and the plant can grow as tall as 6 feet, so asparagus should be planted where it will not shade other plants.

The first spears, which are the shoots, appear early in spring, but in the first season the asparagus spears should be allowed to grow into ferns.  In the second season they can be harvested for about 2 weeks, but thin shoots should not be picked.  Finally in the third spring, asparagus spears can be harvested for at about 6 weeks. 

Green asparagus is what we are most accustomed to eating in the United States. Thicker asparagus is just as tasty as thinner asparagus.  The lower stem can simply be peeled, allowing more stem to be edible.  Peel and cut off the tougher part of the stem, instead of snapping it off at what is considered a simple way to determine the edible part.

Thanks to B.G. for the homegrown asparagus last spring (the vernal equinox).  We had the asparagus with our cream sauce/béchamel over hard-cooked eggs on toast. 

My Creamed Asparagus with Eggs on Toast: 

1 Tablespoon butter  

3 Tablespoons flour  

2 cups milk   

1/4 teaspoon salt  

6 eggs, hard boiled, cut into wedges    

1 pound asparagus spears, cooked    

2 1/2 Tablespoons Dijon or horseradish mustard    

4 thick slices of bread, toasted                                                                                                                                                                 

Plates should be at room temperature, each with one slice of toasted bread.  Melt the butter on low and combine with the flour – cook for 2 minutes.  Turn heat to medium high and add milk, whisking till smooth, and thickened as desired.  Reduce heat to just simmer, add salt and mustard and stir in well.  Place hot asparagus on freshly toasted bread on the plates.  Add egg wedges to sauce to just gently heat them.  Carefully spoon the sauce and eggs over the asparagus on the toast.  Use a large serving spoon.  Easy and also yum!                                                   

In addition to the green asparagus which is largely consumed in the United States, there is white asparagus which is cultivated by denying the plants light while they are growing.  Less bitter than the green variety, it is very popular in the Netherlands, France, Belgium and Germany.

And not yet widely available, purple asparagus differs from its green and white counterparts, because it has high sugar and low fiber levels.

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